Ralph Miller, 87, is the sole
surviving member of the Original Hobo Band.
The band celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006

Staff photo by Jonathan Wells

They were inseparable friends from the
day they met as students at Pitman High School more than 70 years ago, their
lives eternally linked by their common love for playing music and the
rag-tag, but formidable, Original Hobo Band Inc. of Pitman that became a
major cornerstone of their lives.

So when John Pedicord died recently and
his beloved band performed at his funeral, fellow original Hobo Ralph Miller
tearfully played trumpet in tribute to his friend. And for Miller, no march
could have been more appropriate: "Old Comrades."

Pedicord and Miller, both 87, born four
months apart, were the last two original Hobos. Now Miller is the last in a
world-traveled organization that celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006.

Although he is pushed in a wheelchair
by a good friend on parade routes, Miller remains a Hobo fixture. He doesn't
miss Thursday night practices. He still answers the call for parades and
concerts. His heart always will be with them.

"I'm thrilled I've lasted this long,"
says Miller, who began learning trumpet from his brother Bill at the age of
8, "and I don't ever want to give it up."

Miller and Pedicord were graduates of
the PHS Class of 1938. Both played in the high school band and orchestra --
Miller trumpet, Pedicord clarinet and saxophone. As young adults, John
opened an ice cream parlor next to the Broadway Theatre, while Ralph worked
across the street at a produce market. When their businesses closed on
Saturday nights, they hung out together.

Pedicord, Miller and several of their
musically-inclined classmates formed The Tall Cedars of Lebanon-sponsored
"Cedar Chips Band" after graduation. They wore green and white uniforms and
practiced all over town -- even in an empty jail cell at the police station.

Ralph Miller and John
Pedicord helped form The Cedar Chips Band
after graduating from Pitman High School in 1938.

Photo special to the Times

The band thrived until many of its
members went off to fight in World War II. When they returned in 1946, most
wanted to resume playing but didn't fit into their old uniforms.

When asked to perform in Paulsboro and
Mullica Hill Halloween parades the same day as the Pitman Community Band,
they agreed to appear in unconventional hobo attire.

A spectator in Paulsboro is reported to
have said, "Here comes a bunch of bums."

Bandsman Clint Carter is credited with
anointing the band the "Hobos." Pedicord, Miller, Bob McLeish and George
Volk started the Hobo Band.

The band bought land in a peach orchard
on Lambs Road in Pitman in 1952, built a practice facility it still uses
today, and harvested peaches they sold at Cowtown to raise funds to support
the band.

They've performed throughout the
Delaware Valley and East Coast, traveled twice to Europe (1970, 1974) for
international competition, and captured numerous prizes for musicianship and
showmanship.

For just about every step of the way,
Pedicord and Miller were there. One of the years the Hobos traveled to
Europe, they were roommates.

"John's death makes me the last of the
originals," Miller says. "I don't like it, but that's how it ended up. We
miss him being here, that's for sure. The last year, he wasn't able to be as
active. John was an ace of a man and a fine musician whose best instrument
was the clarinet. He also could take a piece of music we knew and rewrite it
for the band."

Miller admits "no one" expected the
Hobos to be as successful and widely popular as they've become and few
believed they'd still be entertaining crowds at parades and concerts after
61 years. But he knows the band's colorful attire doesn't detract from the
undisputed quality of their musicianship.

"We've had a lot of excellent musicians
and we've always had a lot of young people coming up," Miller says.

And Miller has survived the changing of
the guard for 61 years with no intention of retiring.

"I still play and I love it," he says.
"If I didn't have this, I don't know what I'd do."

He can't march because of recurring
chest pains so Judy Ryder, wife of fellow bandsman Henry Ryder, has been
pushing him along the parades routes the last three years. "A fabulous
person," the appreciative Miller says.

The Millers visited family in Florida
recently, meaning Ralph had to miss a rehearsal and a Woodstown event. He
was delighted to learn the Woodstown appearance had to be rescheduled
because of bad weather -- that way, he'd make it.

Miller has his favorite Hobo Band
memories.

The band's two trips to Europe were
special. One year they played in the cemetery where Gen. Patton is buried.

In 1960, after the band marched in the
Vineland Halloween parade, director Bob McCleish talked to a newcomer he
hadn't met. Turns out, the new trumpet player didn't actually play.

"When the newcomer removed her hat, Bob
saw it was the girlfriend (Joan Miller, no relation) of a band member and
had her hair tucked up under her hat," Ralph says. "Bob wasn't too happy
about it. She became the first woman to ever play with the Hobos."

In fact, Miller says, woman weren't
officially welcomed to the fold until 30 years later in 1990.

Miller, who was service manager of
Stratton Pontiac for 35 years, has been Hobo Band president three different
times and also served the organization as treasurer and librarian. He's also
played trumpet for the Bonsal Blues and Millville Legion Band.

But it saddens him that he no longer
will be able to play his music with John Pedicord.

"He was one of the greatest guys I ever
met," says the last remaining Hobo.